Automotive vehicles typically have one or more seats. The seats are normally designed for comfort and safety of vehicle occupants. In particular, such conventional automotive seats typically include side portions both in the seat bottom and seat back that protrude relative to the main seating surfaces of the seat bottom and seat back so as to provide lateral support to the occupant and constrain lateral movement of a seated passenger or driver, especially in the region where the seat bottom and seat back meet. The present inventors have observed that such conventional seating may be unduly constraining for first responders, such as law enforcement personnel, given the variety of gear that may be worn on the body of such a first responder, and the variety of gear that may occupy the front seat region of a first responder vehicle.